Thai Soups

The best Thai soup are: tom ka gai, tom yam kung and gaeng hang. Since a Thai meal is a multi-faceted entity comprising many different dishes served simultaneously rather than sequentially, there’s no separate course for the many items listed under the “soup” heading on your menu. However, if you’ve been handed a tiny bowl and Chinese-style soup spoon, there’s a soup in your future. Some of the more watery curries make you yearn for something to eat them with besides rice, but Thai dining protocol militates against individual serving bowls of most gaeng. Notable exceptions are kaengjeut - literally “bland” curry - and gaeng hang.

Liang means “at hand” or “grown nearby” and refers to the fresh ingredients used in this spicy Northern and Central Thai curry-esque soup. It includes a fragrant blend of peppercorns, green or black, pieces of freshwater or dried fish, leafy greens such as pumpkin tendrils, banana blossoms, snow-pea shoots, and an assortment of fresh vegetables such as baby corn, cauliflower and large pieces of gourd, often pumpkin.

Gaeng hang is one of the oldest dishes in Thailand, but don’t look for a definitive recipe for this - or any other - famous fare. “Quantities aren’t given in Thai recipes because every cook has her own particular idea of how a dish should taste,” explains Ung-Ang-Talay. “Traditional recipes written in Thai only say ‘add enough of this or that’.”

The legendary spicy/sour tom yam kung available throughout Thailand and at self-respecting Thai restaurants worldwide is the watery cousin of the famous Thai yarn or salad. Though the name translates as “boiled mixture” (tom means boil and yam, toss or mix), the fiery broth is anything but bland. It’s made with the traditional Thai aromatics - galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime - combined with tiny chilies and chili paste. Other types of fish besides kung (shrimp) can be added, and certain versions incorporate coconut cream into the broth.

Coconut cream features heavily in another Thai standard, tom ka gai, literally boiled galangal with chicken. The richness of the coconut cream, slightly separated by boiling, combines with the peppery taste of galangal and mitigates the sourness of the lime, creating yet another perfectly balanced Thai combination of disparate flavors.